Greetings MS/US Families,

Another great week gone with more to come! Students and faculty are working hard in every aspect of learning, as evident from the activities highlighted below. ‘Time flies when you're having fun learning’ will be our motto!

LEAP Week will be here before we know it, so I would like to begin to highlight what has been planned for this year. As a capstone, a few trips have been planned that will become staples in the Middle and Upper Schools. 

• 6th/7th grade students will have the opportunity to go camping for a week in the Colorado Bend and Enchanted Rock State Parks. Students will enjoy hiking, kayaking, survival skills, and nature.
• 7th/8th grade students will visit Washington D.C. In preparation for upcoming history courses, students can experience first-hand some monuments and museums as they visit our nation’s capital.
• 9th/10th grade students will visit Guatemala on an international trip. Using their Spanish language and culture lessons, students can experience a Latin American country first-hand. Students will also complete some community service projects for a local community.
• 10th/11th grade students will go on a College Road Trip. This year, students head east to Baton Rouge to visit LSU, hop over to New Orleans to tour Tulane, travel up to Tuscaloosa for Alabama, drop by Mississippi State in Starkville, before making the trek home.
• 10th/11th/12th grade students also have the opportunity to sign up for an Internship. Expanding their horizons or confirming their college major, students can intern with anyone for a week long intensive in a career. Some students have even taken advantage of Spring Break the following week and schedule a two-week internship!

Don’t worry, any student not already signed up for a trip will be able to participate in local intensives facilitated by one of our faculty members. Plus, there is always next year! I will speak more about those in next week’s Ram Report. As always, if I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Well wishes,

06 Science worked in the lab this week conducting experiments both physical and chemical and in the case of a chemical change, they searched for evidence that the chemical change had in fact taken place such as formation of a gas, exothermic or endothermic change, color change, precipitates or more!

Students in 7th Grade Life Science are tracking animals around the world, some from research sites and some they have adopted such as our class dolphin, Squirt, who lives in nearby Galveston Bay. Students are also tracking individual sharks and are in groups tracking an elephant, lion, gorilla, penguin, giraffe, sea turtle and polar bear. As part of their ecology unit they are also reading selected books about marine biology!

This week in 08 Science students continued their investigation into atomic structure to include labs on alpha, beta and gamma radiation and radioactive half life! 

8th grade English students teaching each other the latest chapter in The Fellowship of the Ring. 

Guest lecturer, Brady DeHoust, giving a philosophy lesson in 9th grade to kick off the students' Homer unit. Also, 9th grade English students get to know the gods and characters from their book by doing "Odyssey Speed Dating." 

Makeup photo day will be held on Wednesday, January 31st in the morning. 

If your student would like a retake of their original photo taken in November, you will need to sign up using the link below.

Please note that formal wear is required in the yearbook photo. For US/MS, this is already a formal day.  

Also, please note that the retake will be used in place of the original photo unless you notify Elizabeth Simmons by February 15th.

If your student was absent on the original photo date, they will automatically be on the schedule, and you do not need to take action at this time.

Caleb Simmons, Allen Alumnus '22, is reaching out on behalf of The Bluebonnet Children's Choir. This is a new children's choir in the area with a mission of developing and inspiring a love of music in children and families of the Brazos Valley community. This fall they had more than 40 children between 2nd and 8th grade and are wanting to grow even more. I have attached a flyer for anyone who might be interested in the choir.

Nokona Powell

Student Services Coordinator / Registrar

Bachelor's of Science in Public Administration (in progress), Tarleton State University

Total Number of Years at Allen: 2

Subject(s) You Teach at Allen: Student Services

Favorite Thing About Being at Allen: 

Working alongside a wonderful administration and faculty that cares for the students.

About Me: 

I grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin where I lived for 10 years before moving to a suburb outside of Houston. Being the youngest sibling of six, sports have always been a staple in my family. I got the itch for entering education at a young age with both my grandfather(s) and father being both educators and coaches. Before my arrival at Allen Academy I had previously worked in an athletics assistant role and coached at Westbury Christian.

While continuing my career endeavors and finishing my education, I found Allen Academy! Working in my position at Allen has allowed me to offer support and guidance to all students. During my time here at Allen I have been able to work alongside a wonderful administration and be apart of a strong community that I will forever be grateful for.

I will finish my undergraduate degree and graduate in December from Tarleton State University with anticipation to further my education in obtaining my M.S in Athletic Administration.

In my free time you can catch me at many high school, college, and professional sports games or playing with my dogs Chubby, Chacho, and Miley!

Lunch Volunteers

Each year we are happy to partner with the Allen Academy community in allowing volunteers to help with our lunch program. This includes parents. grandparents, guardians, etc. If you have any interest feel free to signup!

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